Journal of Gerontology: Biological Sciences. A Long Tradition in Advancing Aging Biology and Translational Gerontology.

The Journal of Gerontology was established by the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) in 1946 and thus is the oldest journal for aging biology. In the very first editorial, Lawrence Frank emphasized the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to aging (1), a central philosophy of the GSA that has been maintained by the Journals since that time. In 1995 the Journal was split into the Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences and Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, reflecting the growing development and interdisciplinary strengths of each of these fields in gerontology. Over the years, the Journal has published many key historical papers that have changed the face of aging biology. In 1956, Denman Harman first published his Free Radical Theory of Aging (2) now with over 4,000 citations. In 1961, Harman reported his initial studies on antioxidants (3), work that is viewed as a major step towards developing the field of translational gerontology. The Journal has published pivotal studies on caloric restriction including that led by Ed Masoro’s laboratory in 1982 detailing multi-tissue and multi-parameter beneficial outcomes of the restricted diet (4). The first interagency large-scale initiative to identify and validate of biomarkers of aging in genetically diverse rodent models was the basis of another important and highly cited historical paper (5). More recently, the NIA’s Interventions Testing Program studies have played a prominent role in moving the field forward including reports of the impact of rapamycin and resveratrol on mouse aging (6). The Journals of Gerontology, Series A continues to receive growing numbers of high quality submissions from around the world. With an impact factor of 5.98, Series A is now ranked number 1 of 32 journals in gerontology and number 3 of 49 journals in geriatrics and gerontology.

The Journals of Gerontology, Series A is unique in that it explicitly bridges biomedical and translational sciences in aging and gerontology through the shared publication of Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences. It is not unusual to see parallel reports from human and animal model studies on the same topic in the same issue—recent examples include studies of frailty, biomarkers of aging, and sarcopenia. This shared publication format provides a great opportunity for basic and clinical researchers to gain insight and familiarity across the research disciplines. Over the next year we plan to create links among these papers digitally to assist the reader in finding related inter-disciplinary content and to facilitate greater biomedical and clinical crosstalk. We will continue to place major emphasis on translational gerontology and will particularly encourage submissions for publication in our Special Translational Section that spans Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences. A recent example includes a series of articles on stem cell transplantation for frailty (7–9). We plan to solicit papers for future special issues in a range of areas such as stem cells, senolytic drugs, and cognitive aging among others. We will also be inviting investigators to contribute reviews and perspectives on cutting edge topics in aging biology. A continuing feature will be the series of features on methods and experimental guidelines. These technical and comprehensive publications provide a valuable resource for researchers and scientists and are instrumental in guiding synchronized efforts among laboratories and across continents. Our goals are to promote interdisciplinary research, to broaden horizons for our readership, and reaffirm our place at the forefront in translational gerontology

The Journals of Gerontology are published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a publisher with an impressive social media and marketing capacity for publication promotion. This infrastructure ensures maximal exposure for contributions to the journal both within and beyond the scientific arena. Importantly, OUP is a not-for-profit publisher and general publication is free of charge with accepted papers indexed to Pubmed within days of approval. Furthermore, OUP has substantial institutional subscription ensuring broad accessibility of papers published with us. For even wider accessibility we also have the option for open access publications, and the costs associated with this format are reduced substantially for members of the GSA.

In closing we would like to acknowledge the huge impact that the previous Editor-in-Chief Rafa de Cabo has had on the success of the Biological Sciences component of the Journal and the success of the Special Translational Section in particular. We also extend our profound gratitude to all the hardworking Associate Editors, Editorial Board members and Reviewers who have helped make this journal so effective and strong, and to Ms. Kathleen Jackson, our fabulous and formidable Managing Editor. The Journal of Gerontology: Biological Sciences is a remarkable journal and it is a terrific honor to be at the helm for the next few years. We look forward to reading your contributions and promoting your work, to ongoing subscription and readership, and to publishing the next advances in aging biology.

Conflict of Interest

None reported.